Are You The Office Flake?

The only thing that should be flaky is a hot, buttery croissant. You shouldn’t be the one everyone’s calling flaky. In this instance, being flaky isn’t the same as croissant. There’s nothing nice about being the office flake – the colleague who over promises but under delivers; the one who is constantly stressed out trying to achieve something you’ve said you would but knew you couldn’t; the one who bails out at the last minute – whether it is for an office event or doing your part for a project.

Sounds like you? There are many reasons why you – or someone you know – is flaky. In general, people are flaky because they want to please others. So they don’t know how to say no. Flaky people also tend to avoid confrontation so when asked if they can do something even when they know they can’t, an office flake would rather deliver on empty promises than not deliver at all. You could also not want to miss out on things, thinking it’s important to be everywhere all the time. Office party, yes I’ll be there. HR admin girl’s going away party? Count me in! A networking event for the team? Of course I can make it. But in reality, you overschedule and overstretch yourself, send a last-minute text message why you can’t make it but then come next event, you’re all signed up for it again!

The reason why office flakes aren’t everyone's favourite people is because they are typically unreliable. And if you’re flaking out at the last minute on something super important, it’s going to be difficult – and super stressful! – for your colleagues to fill in at the last minute. Your work falls through the cracks, you have a million and one reasons why you can’t do something, and you generally can’t be trusted to deliver.

Trust us, you don’t want to be that person nobody can depend on. So here are some tips on how to stop being the office flake and start being the colleague everyone knows they can rely on.

#1 Think before you promise
Can you really do the task? Do you have the capacity to handle it, either with your schedule or capability? Sure you want to help when help is asked of you but be honest with yourself: Are you up for it? Objectively consider whether you can make good on the promise. Saying no now is better than flaking out at the last minute. Nobody can fault you for not having the time or skills to handle something but everyone will get upset if you don’t pull through when you were supposed to.

#2 Don’t overbook yourself
Sure, you want to look good going for every meeting but if you end up being late and holding everyone else up with your tardiness because you’re running from one meeting to another and getting caught in a jam… guess what, you might want to prioritise which meetings to go for and which ones to skip. The advice here is simple: Don’t leave others hanging.

#3 Plan your deadlines!
Are you constantly missing your deadlines because you have too much on your plate? It’s time to say no to some tasks! You can’t be expected to do everything – and yes, nobody really expects that of you. Being flaky in this instance means saying yes but bailing out at the last minute or not delivering when you should. Instead, plan your deadlines properly. We know, you want to impress your boss by showing that you can do it all – but the reality is you can’t! Instead, impress your boss by doing a good job on one thing and not being mediocre on five things.

#4 Be upfront
Don’t give non-committal answers. If you can’t or if you don’t feel like it, be polite and just say so. Being non-committal just sets others up for disappointment. Plus, it makes it hard to plan when they can’t get a sure answer from you. And canceling at the last minute? Not a good idea.

#5 Own up
We all make mistakes. The difference is knowing how to apologise sincerely and make up for it… or passing the buck to someone else or making excuses after excuses. A flake does the latter. A person with integrity and respect for others will do the former? Which one do you want to be?

Photo by Luis Villasmil on Unsplash.